Game, Set, Cross Stitch: Vintage Wooden Tennis Racket Needlework

I don’t know about you, but I just love all of the oversized cross-stitch project ideas scattered across Pinterest. Whether it’s on a large peg board or on a cane back chair, they just look amazing- and I’ve wanted to try my hand at it for a while now.

But I was plagued- how would I do this and be unique? You know me- I gotta be different!

I was bemoaning this very thing to my gal pal while we were out junkin’ one day. And like a beacon from the upcycling deities, my eyes fell upon a beat-up vintage wooden tennis racket.

And the repurposing angels began to sing…

This! I could cross-stitch on the racket head! And it was cheap… less-than-a-bottle-of-water-at-the-gas-station cheap!

And when I needed more rackets, Down South Vintage hooked me up! Now I was set. This post contains affiliate links for your crafting convenience.

Who’s up for some doubles? STITCHING, THAT IS!

Since the tennis racket reminded me of oval picture frames, I decided to lop off the handles. Thankfully, I know a gal with a full wood shop, and she let me use her miter saw to cut them off. (We’ve since purchased our own since I fell in love with it!)

Hello, chop saw- nice to meet you!

And yes, I’ve saved the handles for another project!

So I was ready to cross-stitch, but I had no patterns. I’m a complete novice when it comes to this kind of needlework, and I had no idea how to design my own pattern- particularly on my large-scale tennis grid. What’s a girl to do? Well, I turned to one of my blogging “Sheroes”, Bev from Flamingo Toes.

Talk about coming to my rescue…she created four different patterns for me to use, including this snowflake and Christmas tree. (Want to download the other two patterns? Head over to her blog post to get them!)

NOW I could get my cross-stitch on! First, I painted one of my racket heads midnight blue, and purchased some chunky yarn.

My cross-stitch canvas…

Thick yarn to the rescue!

I used painter’s tape (like this kind!) on one end of the yarn (like an aglet on a shoelace) to help ease the yarn through the strings, and it worked like a charm!

Ta-da….cross stitch!

A little close up of my stitchin’ action.

I followed Bev’s awesome pattern and cross-stitched along. I stopped and started new yarn periodically so that there were no long stretches across the back (which could be seen through the strings). That kept it clean-looking, and I would weave the tails carefully through the back stitches (or use a dab of hot glue to keep it in place).

Half-baked snowflake…

And then I was done with the snowflake- how FANTASTIC is that?? Super easy, super amazing, and I love that the racket acts like its own frame.

FULL ON SNOWFLAKE!

I went ahead and made a couple of others, including the tree I told you about earlier and a Poinsettia (one of the patterns on her page!).

Look at that fierce cuteness!

Then it was time to display them! I cut the racket handles with that little “nub” on purpose- in case I wanted to add a D-ring or sawtooth picture hanger to the back. But for now, they’re just resting on our quirky-weird Christmas mantle.

The ultimate reveal!

So quirky, so easy, and so affordable…LOVE!

Amazing, right? And super bonus- you can usually find vintage wooden tennis rackets at your local Goodwill or other thrift store. I won’t lie to you, I’m quite tickled at how they turned out. There were moments of worry and self-doubt, but Bev bolstered my spirit and kept me going. Thank goodness for bloggy friends!

You have given me an awesome idea! My nephew plays Tennis….so I started imagining his name or a term from tennis on a tennis racket. But….yarn didn’t seem to be the right thing……I’m wondering if I can use bungee cord? Of course, now comes the part about how to map that out. Thanks…..love the idea!

Sarah, another great project. You always come up with the best ideas. I have a few wooden tennis rackets hanging around so I might just give this a try. Thank you for sharing your project and tutorial with us at Vintage Charm. sb

[…] knew I could try my hand at some needlework on it. At first, I thought I’d do some cross-stitch (like this crazy-cool project). But, due to the shape of the mesh, my stitches would be more “t’s” than “x’s” and I […]

[…] came the scary part- designing my own cross stitch pattern. The last time I did oversized cross stitch, I teamed up with Flamingo Toes! But this time, I was going at it solo and channeled my inner […]

[…] And because I can’t get enough oversized cross stitch, I decided to create a large, colorful heart on each piece of webbing. Plus, I already had leftover chunky yarn from my tennis racquet project! […]

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About Me

Welcome to Sadie Seasongoods- my blog dedicated to approachable repurposing and upcycling projects using vintage treasures and thrifted finds! I'm Sarah, the gal behind the projects and inspiration you'll find here- and I'm so very pleased to meet you. I feel a fundamental need to repurpose and upcycle the broken, the neglected, and the tossed- and to avoid buying new whenever possible. I hope to encourage others to live a more creative, less disposable life...and to
"think outside the box [store]"!
Working with my husband in our little home to share my ideas with you brings me more joy than I deserve, and I hope you'll sit a spell and page through my creations. I'd love to hear from you; connect with me through social media (below buttons) or please drop me a note at sadieseasongoods@yahoo.com .